While the four of us were at dinner we decided on an 8am start to walk the old town city walls. There is no coverage to hide from the sun so earlier the better. We paid our entrance fee and off we started by climbing the steep steps to the top.

The walls were constructed in the 1600s. They are 1,940 metres long and you can walk all the way around them (it can take up to 2 hours). During the walk we got to explore Dubrovnik from a completely new view. We climbed the highest point of Dubrovnik's Old Town which is the rounded Minceta Fortress, from there we got to enjoy the amazing views over the city's red roofs. No cars are allowed within old towns city walls so it’s nice to not have to worry about walking the streets and watching out for cars.

It was so warm already we decided to just climb into our bathers and head straight to banje beach. We had tried to book a cave and beach tour through a website but it referred us to a shop near the old port which was on our way to the beach so we stopped off there and booked our tickets for tomorrow.

The beach was a small space with pebbles. There weren’t many people there so it didn’t matter that the beach was on the smaller size. I find with the pebble beaches it’s always hotter as it traps the heat so you get warm from the sun and pebbles. The water was so clear and the boys got to watch the fish bite them. I wasn’t too keen to stay in the water when Nicole got bitten too. We had lovely views of the city walls, islands and mountains right behind us. Not the normal beach views we have in Perth.

We walked back to our hotels to get showered and cool down and then all met up outside our apartment and sat on the steps chatting and drinking. Matt likes going out there for his morning coffee too.

I had got a recommendation from Ivan our host and my friend Sarah about a restaurant at the end of our street called Lady PiPi. They have amazing seafood and meat platters. Ivan said you need to go early or you’ll be waiting for 40 minutes for a table. We got there just after opening at 6pm and got a little table for the 6 of us. We then watched so many people queue for an hour or so waiting to get a table. Nicole and Mike shared a seafood platter which was the biggest I’ve ever seen and Matt and Hubert had the mixed grill platter. Elisa had the squid and I choose the chicken. Everyone loved their meals but if we hadn’t been in early I don’t know if I would have queued that long. We made a friend Linda at dinner who kept pleading for food. Huby took some food scraps with him hoping to find her and feed her later but he settled on another cat further into town and was sleeping under a car. It’s amazing some things you do on holidays. We found ourselves outside a church watching cats being fed. Nobody enjoys cats but me, so we were all thinking it was unusual use of time but enjoyable. Once again so many cats everywhere.

On our stroll after dinner Matt and I noticed a few shops and restaurants around which had dried bay leaf garlands around the doors. We couldn’t really find anything about it so I googled it when we got home and they hang it for a ceremony in spring. It’s called The Festivity of Saint Blaise and the Day of the City of Dubrovnik, they have been celebrating it for over a thousand years. We also read about a local artist and his experience when Dubrovnik was sieged by Serbia and Montenegro in 1991. He has big boards outside his studio with information and what he went through on the day.

We found a new spot for gelato and ate that while walking the streets. We got home and all found ourselves on our steps chatting before we headed to bed.

Doviđenja!